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Vigilante had not hidden his curious look, so it did not surprise him that the short man would have seen it. There was nothing about it that he had to hide, at any rate, and Charles seemed to understand the reasoning behind the questioning look. The King nodded. "I was indeed curious about the change in your dialect, but it seemed almost rude to question, since I had already asked about your accent prior to it changing some," he admitted, his tone neutral. He did not see any reason to dwell on the change in the way his words were spoken, though. The manner in which everyone spoke always varied some, and he could appreciate that. He had been told that his own manner of speaking was very formal compared to most, though he did not think so.
As the man spoke, Vigilante listened intently, not finding the man's words offensive in the least. Their pack's way of life and the way it was run was indeed different from many other packs, and he was acutely aware of this. "I take no offense," he said good-naturedly. "This pack is not even a year old now, but we are thriving well. Most of the packs in this area seem to be made up of wolves, with the exception of the coyote clan to the far north. Our pack seems to be the one that dogs come to, presumably because our former King broadcasted that we were a place for misfits and rascals. We still are, in fact. Cour des Miracles is a home free to anyone who wishes to make it theirs." It was a simple enough concept to him, and he was indeed serious about offering the sailor a home.
"However, if you would rather not stay here, I would be happy to escort you out of the lands, and you would be permitted to look for your boat occasionally on our lands with the proper escort," he offered. The proper escort would be, of course, himself or Ruri, or perhaps Haven or Heath. It was the best he could do for the man, if he chose not to stay here as a member of the pack.
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